Expansion
by Sessy52
Summary: Sequel to Who's back? Sasuke and Sakura and family are back again, but this time with another adventure because their life is never boring. With their ever expanding family and the daily struggles, life is always interesting.
1. Chapter 1

**So, what's up. Yeah, i'm back. I've been busy but i figured i ought to give you something so you know i'm alive. **

**As results of my poll, we are now looking at the sequel to Who's Back? Yup. The title is subject to change, it was just something that popped into my brain when i looked at the little title bar thing. **

**Well, what do i have to say. College is boring and time consuming. Updates will be few and far between, i fear. But i will try to update as soon as i can. **

**Um, oh, hey, go to my profile and head over to my FictionPress account. I just posted my baby there and it would mean **_SO_** much to me if you read it. It is my baby. I started it a long while ago and the only person to read a few chapters is my sister. My sister has been through maybe five chapter, i currently have eleven chapters written and i had been debating about whether or not to post it. But my sister convinced me to give it a try and the first chapter has been officially posted. Please, check it out. That is my baby; my characters, my plot, my blood, sweat and tears. Please.**

**Anywho, i'm not sure how good this chapter is edited. I wrote it awhile ago and i can't, for the life of me, remember if i edited good enough. I did a quick skim before posting, but tell me if you see any mistakes. **

**Otherwise. Enjoy.**

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Sasuke stared up at the ceiling, trying to fall asleep. He was body was worn and sluggish, his eyes drooping, begging for sleep. His body was relaxed and his entire body seemed to be begging for sleep that was simply eluding him. Sasuke closed his eyes again, making another attempt of trying to capture sleep.

A good a mount of time passed and Sasuke heaved a quiet sigh and sat up. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and rested his elbows on his knees, his head resting in his hands.

Sakura awoke from her light sleep when the bed shifted. She blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting to the nearly dark room. She could see that it was getting lighter outside, nearing the morning. She rolled over onto her back, immediately spotting Sasuke sitting up with his back to her.

She slowly sat up herself and crawled over to him. She gently wrapped her arms around his neck. She could feel how tense his body was and kissed his bare shoulder. "Babe, try to go to sleep," she whispered into the dark.

"I have been, believe me, I have been. I want nothing more than to sleep right now but I can't." His voice was quiet but frustrated.

She moved her hands to his shoulders, gently massaging them. His body began to slowly relax under her touch. She gently massaged him for a long while before his whole body relaxed again and she was able to pull him back down into the bed. He wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head in the crook of her neck. For a long while, the only sound in that room was the sound of their even breathing.

"You're not sleeping," she finally muttered.

He sighed. "I know," he whispered before gently detangling himself. He stood and pulled on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt.

"Where are you going?" she called out to him as he made his way to the door.

"Coffee," he muttered, slowly opening the door.

"Sasuke, this is your eighth day without sleep! That isn't healthy!" she whispered harshly.

He sighed again and rested his head against the door frame. "I know, it doesn't feel healthy. I feel like I'm going insane."

There was a pause, as Sakura was hesitant to say what was o her mind. Sasuke sensed that she was holding back and turned his gaze to met her eyes. Her chewed on her lip, sitting cross legged on the bed. "Maybe we should go see Tsunade. Maybe she can prescribe something for you."

He simply blinked at her before yanking open the door fully and exiting the bedroom. She sighed, knowing that he hated to admit weakness.

It had been a few months since the wedding. Sakura had turned nineteen in March, the wedding was in early April, and now Sasuke was days away from twenty. Little Kai was now about eight months old and crawling and has recently started to stand up. But with him being mobile now, he has been a handful for the couple. Every chance he has gotten, he has been moving around and sticking things in his mouth. While they were constantly watching him before, they now have to be even more careful to watch him.

Mikoto was now twenty weeks old and still Daddy's little girl. She is often found by Sasuke, who has been teaching her things. She has a few words in her vocabulary and she has been making short, broken sentences, like "Me fall" or "Juice gone". Sasuke has also been teaching her to brush her teeth and do very simple chores. When instructed, she can bring over her dirty bowl or cup so that Mommy or Daddy can wash it.

Seto is now four and an early reader. He has started reading children's books and he and Sakura often read bedtime stories. He's more of a Momma's boy, so he often with Sakura. He goes on errands with her and likes to spend time in the garden with Sakura. He's now attending preschool at the academy and has been making many friends.

Sasuke and Neji are still working on their plans for the Uchiha-Hyuga Police Department. They have presented their plans to the elders in the village and, though they gave Sasuke a lot of trouble, Tsunade is throwing in good word. If things go as plan, they can begin the reconstruction of the old police station as soon as September.

As a married couple, the two couldn't be happier. Their kids are growing and developing at exceptional rates, but they always find time for one another. Ino has moved out and is living with Tenten and Hinata. However, the members of the Konoha 12 are always coming in and out of the Uchiha manor.

The only complaint that the couple really has to report is the sudden change in Sasuke's sleeping patterns. He had always had an erratic sleeping pattern since his depression many months ago. However, in recent days, his inconstant sleeping patterns went from his usual four hours of sleep, down to three, down to two, down to one, down to a half hour, until he wasn't sleeping at all anymore. At this point, he was now on day eight without sleep, no matter how much he wished for sleep to come.

Sakura sighed and pulled herself out of bed as well. He was almost a waking zombie by now, but he still couldn't seem to claim sleep. She pulled on her summer robe and made her way down the stairs. She went straight towards the kitchen where she found Sasuke leaning heavily against the counter, trying to make coffee.

She wordlessly walked up behind him and gently took everything out of his hands and led him over to the table. He plopped down into the chair gracelessly and she walked back over to the coffee maker. "Make it strong," he muttered from his position at the table.

While it was brewing, she poured herself a glass of orange juice, something she had taken to drinking during her pregnancy instead of coffee. She took a sip and then put the cup down on the table. She heaved another sigh. "Man, I have to pee again," she muttered.

Sasuke eyed her. "What did you drink? You got up twice last night to pee,"

She shrugged her shoulders and headed towards the bathroom for the third time that morning. When she came back, Sasuke was pouring himself a cup of coffee, though his cup was more of a vat because of his large cup, almost the size of a small bowl. He didn't bother with anything else, like crème or sugar, before moving back over to the table. She gently kissed his cheek and sat down with him.

"Ino and Naruto should be here soon," she muttered, sipping her orange juice.

"Yeah, they always come over way to early," he muttered in response.

As if on cue, the front door opened and the two blondes joined them in the kitchen soon after. They gave their usual greetings, Sakura getting two hugs while Sasuke was patted on the back by Naruto and mocked by Ino. He grunted in response to both, simply to tired to retort to Ino's comment. She stopped pouring her coffee mid-pour and turned to stare at his slumped over form.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," he mumbled into his arm. He didn't convince anyone. Both blondes turned to look at Sakura in the same instant, giving her the same exploring look.

She looked at them both, giving them a disturbed look. "Now that was creepy," she said pointing at them. "Two two looked like little blonde creepy dolls in a trance," she muttered before moving over to rummage through the cabinets. She was ignoring the blondes silent questions.

Sasuke turned to see what his wife was doing when he heard what sounded like plastic bottle falling over. She was crouched down, her whole upper body almost in the large cabinet, looking for something. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for something. I have this strange craving for something, but I don't know what . ." she trailed off.

Naruto laughed, munching on a bowl of cereal he had just made. "Doesn't this remind you of when she was pregnant and looking for the peanut butter?" he said, gesturing at her current position.

Ino tilted her head, eying her best friend. "Yeah, it does," she said, recalling the many times they had run out of peanut butter during her pregnancy. Sasuke had always kept it on the front of the cabinet for her, and then moved it to a higher shelf when she got too big to bend over easily. But whenever they ran out, Sakura would rummage through all of the cabinet to be sure, pregnant belly or not, and then would send the nearest person to the store when she finally determined that there was , indeed, no more peanut butter in the house.

Sakura froze, pulling herself out of the cabinet to sit on the floor, her face pale. "Ew, the thought of peanut butter," she murmured to herself, covering her mouth.

Sasuke sat up straighter, his exhaustion temporarily forgotten as he looked at his pale wife. He blinked twice before her body lurked forward gently, like she was weaving and nothing was coming up. But it was only a matter of time before something did come up. Sasuke sprinted over and grabbed the nearest large bowl and put it under her chin. She moved her hand away from her mouth and gently placed it on his while she heaved, still nothing.

The blondes watched with sick fascination, waiting to see if see will actually hurl or not. After a few minutes of this, Sakura gained control of herself and pushed the empty bowl away. Her color was returning and after a few calming breaths, she felt better. She gave a weak smile to Sasuke, who stared at her in concern. "Are you okay?"

She reached up and brushed her hand over his cheek and the bags under his eye. "I'm supposed to be the one concerned about you, not the other way around."

"Why are you concerned about Teme?" Naruto asked with a mouth full of cereal. The mother in Sakura almost made her reprimand him for speaking with his mouth full but she stopped herself.

In the same moment, Ino took her first sip of coffee and nearly spit it out. She choked it down with wide eyes. "Wow! That is the strongest cup in the fucking planet! Why didn't you just pour the water into the bag of coffee grounds?"

"Just? Don't think the thought hasn't crossed my mind. But I had to really think it through. What would I drink when I was done with that cup?" Sasuke mocked from his seated position on the floor.

"Ha, ha, you're hilarious," she replied sourly, adding a lot of crème and sugar in order to dilute it. She took a sip and grimaced, adding more crème and sugar.

"You know, you could just not drink it," Sakura stated and Ino rolled her eyes.

"But then it would be like letting it win," she drawled out.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Letting who win? Sasuke?"

The blonde stared at her like it was the most obvious thing in the world and she was an idiot for missing it. "No, the coffee."

Sakura rolled her eyes, muttering an 'oh god, how could I have been so stupid," while she reached over to open the next cabinet. Sasuke eyed her questionably before she let out a triumphant yell and pulled out a small box of chocolate covered raisins. She nearly ripped off the top of the box when trying to open it but wasn't in the least fazed by it. Instead, she happily poured a handful into her mouth and chewed contently.

"Yumm," she hummed in delight.

Sasuke blinked, his eyebrow raised at his wife's strange antics. But he decided not to question it too much. She didn't seem to be sick anymore but actually looked pretty content eating her raisinets.

He stood on tired legs and made his way back over to the table, where his empty cup sat. He grabbed it and went over to the counter and poured another cup. Ino eyed him from her seated position on the counter next to him while he took the first sip, not grossed out at all and actually enjoying the jolt it gave him. He needed to jolt to keep him moving.

"You are a strange beast," Ino muttered next to him.

He ignored her, his mind elsewhere. He leaned against the counter, sipping his coffee slowly while his mind worked. He had this strange uneasy feeling about something. He couldn't figure out what was causing it but it was like there was something he was missing, overlooking in his tired state. Something he would have never missed before.

His mind worked off a list. The kids were fine. He had checked on them before he came down, all of them sleeping peacefully. Plus, he had a baby monitor on so he would hear if something was amiss. There was no one in the house, he had already scanned for another chakra signature besides the usual ones. Nothing.

Sakura was fine. She may be a little sick, though you wouldn't be able to tell if you looked at her now. She had finished the box of raisinets quickly and was now looking through the fridge, probably looking for something to make breakfast with. She was fine.

But still he felt uneasy. He tried to focus on her sudden sickness. It was a wave of nausea, because it past and she was all better now, eating raisinets happily. It was strange though, she never eats raisinets. She was usually pretty conscious about the food she eats, making sure it is part of a well balanced meal. She made sure the kids got good meals and had to make sure that Sasuke was properly nutrition. After his surgery months ago, he has to watch his food intake and nutrition because they had remove part of his stomach and bowel. He automatically eats less now, and if Sakura doesn't watch him (because he hardly ever cares for himself properly) he could become malnutrition and start dropping weight easily. Personally, she hardly ever snacked because of all that she needed to worry about when it came to food, especially so early in the morning.

There was something strange going on with her. Yesterday, she was complaining about heartburn. All night, bathroom breaks. And she has been tired, but since she was often up with him, he didn't really think much of it until now. Not to mention she couldn't get comfortable last night, constantly tossing and turning.

Sakura pulled out a jar of something from the fridge. It had no label and it was closed pretty tightly. She frowned and tried to open it, her fingers straining. It didn't budge. She scowled at it and pumped chakra into her arms and hands. With her chakra, she was able to open it. She sniffed it experimentally.

It was only when she was opening it that Sasuke finally understood what he was missing.

He could sense her chakra perfectly. And when she used it to open the jar, he felt it flare within her. But, like more than a year ago, when she used her chakra, another small, almost undetectable chakra flared too. Sasuke's mind automatically knew what this meant and he tried focusing on the small chakra and he was suddenly amazed that he never noticed it until now.

Like when he first realized she was pregnant before, he could feel the small pulse of the chakra growing. But now, it was a bigger source of chakra within her. His mind couldn't understand why. She wasn't showing, and she was just now showing the symptoms of pregnancy. But the chakra was nearly double what it had been when he first noticed Kai's chakra. The teen could only conclude that she was much father along than he thought or it was a very strong baby.

Sasuke took a deep breath and put his cup down. Sakura still stood by the fridge, her face scrunched up in confusion. She looked over at him questionably. "Do you know what this is?" She sniffed it again.

He frowned and stepped forward, ignoring the mystery jar and putting his hand on her lower stomach, between her hips. He focused on the chakra. It was different from Kai's. Everyone's chakra is different. Siblings, parents, or clan members are sometimes similar. But they always have a different taste, flavor, or even a different spark to it. Kai's chakra had been a strange mixture of Sakura's and his strong Uchiha flare with a small speck of something else.

But this was different. He could sense Sakura's chakra flare in it, and his own stronger Uchiha flare. The Uchiha blood was more dominant when it came to chakra. Everyone in the old clan had a very similar chakra. He could sense both of this and then something different. The special individual flare, it wasn't just one, it was almost like . . .

Sakura's body was tense, staring at his serious face. She could see he was concentration, the same way he had been he discovered she was pregnant. She blinked, nervousness and fear building in her gut, her chest getting tight. He opened his eyes and she stared at him intensely.

"Please say that I'm not . . . " she trailed off, unable to speak the word.

Deadly serious, he spoke. "We are never having sex again."

It was enough confirmation she needed.

She felt as the wind was knocked out of her. She wasn't sure she could handle another baby right now. Kai was barely eight months, not even a year. He was already a handful, constantly getting into something. Not to mention that there was Seto and Mikoto to consider. Those two alone were hard to handle, but together, it was even more difficult. She had thought about more babies, but in the future. When the kids were older and more independent. Not now.

She leaned against the cold door of the fridge, the mystery jar forgotten in her hand. "We can't have another. Not so soon after we had Kai. We already have three young kids. A fourth is just . . ." she trailed off, her arms falling to her side and the contents of the mystery jar hitting the ground with a sickening splat.

"From this moment on, a sex-less marriage," Sasuke stated, walking over to the table. He planted both hands on the tabletop firmly and tried to get himself together.

Ino was staring in shock at the two. Her eyes were wide and she had to quickly put her coffee down before she dropped it. Naruto sat at the stool at the island. His mouth hung open and milk was dipping from it, trailing down his chin. He blinked. "You're having another kid!"

Sakura ignored him, looking at Sasuke's back. "We can't have another baby."

He suddenly whirled around with wide frantic eyes. "We aren't having _a_ baby. We are having _two_ babies," he exclaimed and then took a deep breath, staring at the ceiling. "I'm going insane."

Sakura gasped and stepped forward, gripping his arms. "Are you sure that there are two signatures and not one. Maybe you just misinterpreted it because of lack of sleep," she said hopefully.

He shook his head. "No, lack of sleep made me fail to notice it until now. But I'm sure there are two different chakra signatures in your womb. Very similar, but different."

She shook her head. "This can't be possible. I can't be pregnant."

Sasuke stared at her incredulously. "Okay, if detecting the chakra isn't enough for you. Your period hasn't returned after Kai so you can't use that to determine, but think about everything else. The heartburn, all the bathroom breaks, the craving for the raisinets, the exhaustion. You were even complaining the other day that your bra was snug and couldn't get a good night's sleep. You're pregnant."

Sakura heard it all and frowned. She paled again. "I think I'm going to be sick," she muttered before sprinting off towards the bathroom. Sasuke took a calming deep breath and then followed her.

He knelt down next to her and pulled her hair way from her face. When she was done, he rubbed her arms comfortingly and she gripped one hand, squeezing it. He leaned his head on her shoulder. "Well, that wasn't the best way for us to handle that," he commented after having a small bit of time to think.

"We are both so young and have so much responsibility already. And having three kids is hard enough but _five!_ Two years ago my biggest worry was the hospital. Now I'm a wife and a soon-to-be-mother of five. How does that happen in a span of twenty one odd months?"

Sasuke blinked and stared at the wall. "What are you trying to say?" he asked gently, but he could feel his heart sinking with each word she said. It almost sounded like she was regretting ever being with him. He was under the impression that she was happy. But they way she said things sounded like she wasn't.

"I can't be a mother of five," she whispered back.

Sasuke leaned away from her. "Well what are you going to do then?" he asked bluntly.

She turned to stare at him questionably. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you already are a mother to three. If you can't be a mother to five, what are you going to do? Abortion isn't an option. I won't have it."

She frowned at him. "Who said anything about abortion?"

"Well, what do you expect me to think? You keep saying 'I can't be a mother to five' but you're already pregnant so there is only so many options. You can either have them and be their mother, then give them to me and run, or abort the whole thing. Those are your only options and I won't stand for the third one," he stated coldly and she stared at him in shock.

Soon her shock turned to anger. "What the hell is wrong with you? I'm freaking out here and you are just being a jerk!"

"I'm being a jerk!" he asked sharply and she stood up angrily.

"Yeah, you are! I'm freaking out and you're going on about fucking abortion!"

He stood up as well, not liking how she was towering over him. He liked being the tall one. "And you don't think I'm freaking out! I'm scared as hell! I feel as if I'm going insane because I can't sleep, and a person needs sleep. Especially when you are trying to raise children! But I'm sucking it up and trying to figure this out. But all I hear from you is how you can't do this and making it sound like you even regret being with me."

"What are you talking about! When did I say that I regret being with you! I love you, you dumbass!" she shouted and then stormed out of the tiny bathroom. She nearly ran over Naruto, who was standing around the corner eavesdropping on their conversation. She glared at him and pushed past him.

"Don't walk away from me! I'm trying to talk you!" Sasuke shouted from the bathroom but was ignored.

Ino stepped into the hallway in time to see Sakura run up the stairs and to hear Sasuke yell. Naruto stood by the base of the stairs, staring at Sakura's retreating form. She made her way over to the other blonde. "What happened?"

Naruto recapped the conversation quickly, and the blonde woman cursed silently under her breath. She looked at the other blonde. "I'm going up to talk to Sakura. You go check on Sasuke to make sure he hasn't killed himself or something," she muttered before quickly going up the stairs to try and comfort her best friend.

Before Naruto could go over to the bathroom, Sasuke came out and walked past him. The blonde stuttered incoherently, and then followed his best friends into the kitchen. Sasuke was leaning against the fridge, slowly thumping his head against the cool surface.

"Teme, you shouldn't do that. You may get brain damage or something like that," the blonde said calmly.

"Shut it," the dark haired teen muttered.

Upstairs, the other blonde was having a better time with her best friend. She found the pinkette in the master suite's bathroom. She was standing at the right sink, seeing as the bathroom had his and her sinks. She had chosen the right one while Sasuke got the left because he was dominantly left handed and she was right handed. If they had switched sinks, they would constantly be bumping into each other. She was crying angrily while brushing her teeth.

Ino let her do so for a minute or two, knowing that she had just thrown up and was cleaning out her mouth, but had to stop her after that. "Honey, put the toothbrush down," she said, gently placing her hand over Sakura's. "You can't be brushing your teeth that angrily. It's not good for you to rip apart your gums," she commented while gently tugging her hand. "Down. Put it down."

Finally, Sakura obliged and put it down, rinsing out her mouth. She spit blood into the sink. "Told you not to brush so hard," Ino commented.

Sakura wiped away some tears. "Bleeding gums is another symptom of pregnancy," she stated.

Ino blinked. "Well, that sucks. Remind me never to get pregnant," she joked, leading the pinkette over to the toilet. She closed the lid and made her friend sit down. She knelt in front of her. "You want to talk about it?"

Sakura frowned and wiped away her tears. "I don't know how that blew up."

Her blonde held her while she cried it out, gently rubbing her back and whispering comforting words. They stayed like this for a long time before Sakura pulled back, shaking her head. "I can't do this!"

Ino wiped away some tears. "Don't say that. Just remember, twice of everything."

Sakura snorted. "Yeah. Twice the amount of money, diapers, formula and breastfeeding, drooling and spit up, pooping, screaming, hours of sleep lost, and twice the amount of work."

"And twice the amount of smiles, laughs, first words, and magical moments that makes everything worth while! You said that you couldn't have Kai and look at you now! Kai was born and is healthy, happy and striving towards an excellent future. You are a great mom and a damn strong person. If there is anyone who could do this, it would be you. And with Sasuke's help, well, damn, you two could start a little army of kids and still be able to handle it," she said with a smile and the wave of the hand. "You got this," she promised.

Sakura sniffed and wiped away the last of her tears. "You think so?"

Her blonde friend smiled. "Hell yeah! You were always good at taking down challenges. Motherhood is just one big challenge. Trust me, you've got this."

Sakura took a deep breath and tried to think clearly. She pushed back the fear she felt and tried to think it all through. She could handle the pregnancy. It was just going to be difficult, because of the two babies in her, but she had already carried a baby that fought against her. That was more painful than anything she had ever done before. So this pregnancy, pain wise, she knew she could take.

And once she was done with the pregnancy and the birth, then she would be bringing home two beautiful babies. It was going to be hard, but she knew Sasuke could pretty much do anything. He could do it and if he could, then she could. They would do it together.

Sakura rested her hand over his flat lower stomach. "I need to talk to Sasuke, make sure he knows that I'm in this and we can get this stupid fight over with. I need him."

Ino nodded. "Yeah, lets go get him," she said and offered her best friend a hand and a hug.

"Thank you, Ino."

"That's what I'm here for."

Before they could say anything else, a crash met their ears. It wasn't too loud, but it sounded like glass breaking. The two friends eyed each other and then made their way down the stairs. They when straight to the kitchen, where they knew they would find the boys.

They found Sasuke with one hand covering his eyes and the other, pulling his hair. He had moved away from the fridge and was now standing by the counter. At his feet was a mess of broken glass and coffee. Naruto sat in the same stool as before. "Teme, you missed the counter," he stated.

Sasuke lifted his head and glared at the blonde. "Thank you for letting me know." He had drank all of his coffee and in a desperate move, he had grabbed Ino's full cup. He took one sip and then frowned, not liking the taste of the vast amount of sugar and crème it contained. He went to put it back, but in his tired and frazzled state, he misjudged the distance. Not extending his arm enough, he let the cup go, thinking it was on the counter, but it was actually at least three inches away and fell to the ground.

Sasuke groaned and then sat down where he stood, feeling like he was just going to collapse any moment. Sakura, who had gone unnoticed by either boy, entered the kitchen and knelt down next to him. He looked at her and sighed. "I'm sorry I yelled," he stated.

She nodded. "I'm sorry too. It was a misunderstanding, what we had. I love you and I'm in this. I know we can do it."

He nodded and rested his elbow on his knee and then leaning over to put his face into the palm of his hand. He shook his head and sighed before removing his face and pulling his hand through his hair. "But we need to talk to Tsunade first. I can't keep going on like this. I didn't want to admit it, but I need help."

She nodded. "I'll schedule something right away. We can go together. I'll get a prenatal exam and we can talk to her about your sleeping problem."

He nodded and leaned in for a kiss. She smiled and planted her lips against his. It was a simple kiss, but it spoke a thousand words. We were going to pull through and everything was going to be okay.

Naruto blinked from his position by the island. "What sleeping problem?"

Sasuke sighed while Sakura rolled her eyes.

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**Probably not as good as the first one, but hey, i tried. Review?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, sorry it took so long. I realize how long it's been but i've been busy with school and home stuff and well death. I'm not going to ramble cause i just finished my finals today so i'm tired. But good new, i'm not winter break. Yah.**

**Hey, i'm thinking about changing the name of this. Maybe something like **Super Human**. What do you think?**

**Well, enjoy. It's not too good.**

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Sakura sat on the uncomfortable examination bed in the hospital. The room was quiet, as Sasuke was slumped in the chair behind her, zoning out. Sakura quickly glanced at her husband once more before looking back at the door, twiddling her thumbs and swinging her legs. She glanced out the window, and saw birds sitting on the telephone wire. She smiled to herself. It was almost déjà vu. Except the last time she was here pregnant like this, she was scared of how her sensei would take the news. Now, she felt calm.

The door opened soon after and Sakura smiled at her old sensei. The blonde was looking at the charts, but sensing Sakura's stare, looked up and returned the smile. "Well, just got the tests back. You're pregnant."

Sakura smiled and turned to smack Sasuke's arm. He jumped and nearly slammed his head into the wall. Sakura ignored this. "Did you hear that, babe? I'm pregnant."

He blinked and rubbed his eyes. "No shit, who would have thought?" he joked in a monotone voice.

Tsunade eyed him strangely with a hint of frustration in her stare. She took a frustrated breath and then turned back to Sakura. "Well, you are about five weeks along and everything checks out fine. So far, you look good. And of course you know its twins, I assume." She paused to see Sakura nod in confirmation. "Right, anyways, you look good.

"Now, you remember how the pregnancy thing goes, I assume. I will need to put you back on prenatal vitamins and I also want to monitor you closely. After how Kai was already advancing in the womb, I want to monitor you to see if it happens again."

Sasuke blinked in confusion. "But I thought that was such a rare thing. What are the chances that the twins will be that way?"

Tsunade tucked the chart under her arm and shrugged. "Well, for a regular couple, slim to none. But you two are not a regular couple. You both are two powerful shinobi. No two sannins have had children together-" Tsunade said before Sakura interrupted her.

"But we aren't sannin."

Tsunade continued like she hadn't been interrupted. "-and so no powerful children have been spawned like yours."

Sasuke blinked and leaned forward in his seat. He rested his elbow on his knee and then his head in his hand. "What do you mean?"

The blonde woman sighed. "What I'm saying is that you two are a powerful couple. So powerful, that we have no clue how powerful your children will be."

"But we aren't sannin," Sakura protested again, still stuck on that.

Both ignored her comment. "Well, why wouldn't they be normal?" Sasuke asked, his exhaustion making it difficult for him to follow Tsunade's logic like he usual does.

Tsunade sighed again, feeling like she was talking to two year olds. "Because you and Sakura both have strong chakras. When you reproduce, the child is a mixture of both of you, meaning that they get their genes from you as well as their chakra capability. When you two reproduce, two strong chakras are mixing together."

Sasuke nodded slowly. "But what does that have to do with the possibility that Sakura may have another complication like she did with Kai?"

Tsunade leaned against the counter behind her and shrugged. "Maybe nothing. It's such a rare complication that we haven't had a chance to study it and understand why it happens. For all we know, that was just Kai. But on the other hand, it might be because of whom the parents are that determine whether or not the complication occurs. We simply don't know."

Sasuke ran a hand over his face and then through his hair, a habit he did when he was frustrated. He groaned. "I still don't understand."

Tsunade nodded. "Okay, let me try to break this down. When Sakura was pregnant with Kai, she had a rare complication. This was a result of Kai being more advanced than most babies. In the womb, he was able to manipulate his own chakra and give Sakura chakra filled kicks and jabs whenever he didn't like what was going on outside the womb. This may be simply because he was a rare advanced prodigy.

"However, there is also a chance that it was more than that. It may have been because the mixture of both your genes and chakra created a child that was advanced enough to do this. Maybe, just maybe, it wasn't a strange occurrence. It may just have been that the mixture of the both of you makes such a powerful baby that they already start advancing in the womb."

Sasuke nodded slowly, rubbing his hand through his hair. "Well, say that it because the two of us. How do we know?"

Tsunade shrugged. "As of right now, the only way to find out is if the babies suddenly start advancing in the womb like Kai had. We can't screen them or anything so we just have to wait and see."

"But we aren't sannin," Sakura protested again, and both looked at her.

Sasuke blinked and shook his head. "And if they do, then what? Having one child like that is hard enough for Sakura to carry. What happens if both twins do it? How much danger would Sakura be in?"

Tsunade frowned. "Well," she said, pausing to think, "it definitely wouldn't be good. We would watch her very carefully and put her on bed rest. If it got to a very dangerous level, so that all three of them were in trouble, then we would deliver. Worse case scenario, of course."

Sasuke sighed. "Well that's comforting."

Tsunade stood up straighter. "Well, try not to worry about it now. Right now, she is healthy and so are the twins. If it comes to that, then we will worry about it. Until then, just try to enjoy the pregnancy."

Sasuke nodded, not completely happy with her answers, but not wanting to press the issue. Sakura frowned. "But we aren't sannin."

Tsunade eyed her. "Honey, you two are strong enough to be. Jiraiya and I just haven't officially handed down the titles."

"You're going to hand down the titles?" Sakura asked her sensei.

The blonde shrugged. "Maybe one day. We would always be the first sannin but you three would be the next generation. But don't worry about that," she said, waving a hand. "You're done. So hop off the table so your husband can jump up."

Sakura nodded and jumped off the table daintily. Sasuke slowly and sluggishly stood from his seat and moved over to the table. Sakura put her hand on his arm, trying to help him but he waved her off. He muttered an 'I got this', and she reluctantly let him go. He pulled himself up onto the table and looked at Tsunade, who was studying him.

She frowned, that frustrated look still in her eyes. She put Sakura's chart down and then grabbed Sasuke's. She studied it again. They had run extensive tests, and the couple had been there all day. The couple had dropped the kids off at Sakura's parent's house that morning before heading over to the hospital. It was now nearing five in the evening. Sasuke had endured test after test.

Tsunade frowned. "Well, I'm looking at all the results, and they are all clean. All the brain scans, blood tests, etc. Your blood pressure is a bit higher than the last time you were here, but that may be caused by the lack of sleep. I would diagnose it as insomnia."

Sakura frowned. "Insomnia is when a person has problems going to sleep or wakes up frequently in the night. He had insomnia before. Now he's not even sleeping at all. He's already on day ten of no sleep."

Tsunade looked at her student. It was always the hardest to talk to a patient when they were a doctor themselves. In this case, the doctor was just the concerned wife. "Well, it's a severe case."

"I don't care what it is. How are you going to treat it? Sleeping pills?" Sasuke deadpanned.

Tsunade looked back at him. "Well, it might be caused by an underlying condition, stress, something psychological, or any number of things really. However, most of the tests we have done have come up clean so we are just going to have to really investigate."

Sakura extended her arm and Tsunade sighed before handing over the chart. Sasuke watched as Sakura studied them, flipping pages calmly. They waited for several minutes before she lowered the folder in her hand and looked at her sensei. "So, what are we going to do?"

He rubbed his temples and then ran a hand through his hair again. He took a deep breath. "I really don't care what is causing it. I just want to sleep." At this point, it didn't matter to him. Although he was slightly offended that Tsunade had said that it could be psychological, most of it was going right over his head. Sleep was all that mattered to him and all this 'investigating' crap just seemed pointless.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Impatient, are we? Is everyone in a hurry these days that they can't just sit still for a moment? Stupid people coming in with gaping wounds and they tell me to slap a band-aid on it," she grumbled to herself as she looked at charts. She sighed. "I can prescribe a very mild sleeping pill. We will see how that works for you for a bit and then see if we need to adjust the prescription."

Sasuke sighed and ran his hand through his hair again, not exactly happy with the situation. He shook his head in disbelief before looking at Tsunade with a blank expression. "So then, are we done?" His tone was almost dead, cold and detached.

The blonde women blinked in surprise and noticed his mood shift. Sakura looked at him as well. She could sense his silent anger, his patience wearing thin. He was upset, she could see it in the way his tired body was tense. She glanced at Tsunade, giving a silent plea to hurry this along. The blonde nodded.

"Yeah, I guess. If you don't have any more questions, just stop by the front desk and they will give you your prescriptions."

Sasuke nodded and didn't wait for either girl to answer. He jumped off of the uncomfortable table and marched to the door, pulling it open violently and letting it slam against the wall. He marched out of the door, disappearing from sight quickly.

Tsunade looked at her student, seeing the concern expression on her face. The blonde was concerned too, but she hid it from her face for the sake of the daughter she never had. She smiled comfortingly. "Well, he doesn't seem so tired anymore," she commented lightly.

Sakura nodded dejectedly. She gathered her bag and gave her sensei a hug. "Thank you for seeing us today. I know you're busy and you must have put off a lot to work with us all day."

Tsunade shrugged offhandedly. "Don't worry about it. Take care of yourself and those babies."

Sakura nodded with a small smile. "I will."

Sakura moved and followed her husband down the hall at a much saner pace. Tsunade frowned and moved over towards the door. She stopped, glancing behind the door to see that he had damaged the wall when he opened the door so violently. She shook her head, silently cursing him and his stupid strength.

xOx

The couple had gotten their prescriptions and then picked up the kids before they went home. Sasuke hadn't exactly been in the mood to talk. His face was emotionless and he barely spoke a word to anyone. It was the same thing he did every time he was really upset. He pulls away from everyone. Sakura hated it when he did this. He went about his usual business and she was left to worry.

He had silently cooked dinner that night, barely functioning but refusing to accept help with his usual chores. He hadn't eaten a lot that night, though Sakura was always hounding him to eat. It had her very worried, fearing that he would start dropping weight again. But even as she hounded him, she couldn't get him to eat more than a few bites.

The evening past slowly, filled with silence and worry. After the two had put the kids to bed, Sasuke disappeared. Sakura sat on the couch for awhile, trying to focus on the book in her hands but couldn't because of all her anxious thoughts swirling around in her head. After reading the same sentence at least fifteen times in a matter of fifteen minutes, she groaned in frustration and put the book down.

She folded up the blanket that was previously been draped on her lap and turned off the small lamp before heading upstairs. The house was dark as she silently navigated through the halls, rubbing her still flat stomach that somehow was starting to feel different. No doubt she would be showing very soon. She absentmindedly noted that pregnancies tend to progress quicker after the first, not to mention that she was growing two little people inside of her instead of one.

She entered the dark bedroom, stopping when she noticed that the bathroom light was on. The door was cracked, letting a sliver of light fill the dark bedroom. She paused for only a moment before slowly moving over. She didn't bother knocking, but instead pushing the door open slowly.

She found Sasuke sitting on the bathroom floor, his head leaning back against the wall. His prescription bottle was sitting on the very edge of the sink countertop. He was staring at it blankly, but she could sense how much of a big deal the bottle was too him. She slowly sat down next to him and stared at the bottle.

After a few minutes, she looked at him. "What's wrong?" she asked in a whisper.

He said nothing.

She gently nudged him with her shoulder. "Babe, talk to me."

He was silent again. She sighed and was about to question him again when he pushed against the wall and stood in front of the sink, staring at the bottle like it was an alien invader. He braced himself against the counter, his grip so tight that his fingers turned white. She stared at him, waiting for him to speak.

"What is eating at you?" she asked when he said nothing.

"It has come to this," he muttered.

She stood up and leaned against his shoulder, watching their reflection in the mirror. "What are you talking about?"

He kept his stare away from her watchful eyes. "After all the things I've endured in my life, I'm so weak that I have to take pills to sleep. Sleep is such a simple thing. If I can't even sleep right, how in hell am I going to protect this family?" he muttered angrily.

She removed her head from his shoulder. "What are you talking about?"

The marble counter top underneath his grip cracked. Not enough to break it into pieces, but enough to alarm Sakura and scar the perfect sink. He snatched the bottle off the counter top and wrenched the cap off. Sakura gasped and moved quickly. She applied enough chakra into her hand to stop him from dumping the pills down the sink. She pried the bottle out of his hand carefully.

Once the bottle was out of danger, she dragged him away from the sink. She gently pushed him against the wall, reaching up to grab his face between her hands. He looked away, but she calmly told him to look at her. She repeated the command until he listened to her.

"Stop this right now. You are an amazing person and a damn good husband and father. You don't always have to be so strong. You aren't superhuman. You are only human, so weakness is allowed. That doesn't make you any less of a person."

He kept quiet. He looked up at the ceiling and the closed his eyes with a pained expression on his face. He reached up to gently grab her arms and tried to push her out of the way without hurting her. But she wasn't having it. She tore her arms out of his grip and pumped charka into her hands, quickly grabbing his hands and locking them above his head. He could have broken the hold if he wanted to, but he would never hurt her and she could always pump more chakra into her hands in order to trap him. But for extra measure, she nudged his legs apart and pressed her knee against the wall, directly under his sensitive parts. If he wanted to go anywhere, he was risking his future children.

He whimpered and hung his head. "You know, this is domestic abuse," he muttered in a defeated tone.

"You know I have never been very gentle," she said while trying to look at his face. His hair blocked her view.

He was silent for a long moment before he responded. "He hasn't responded," he muttered.

She blinked and tried to look at his face again with no further success. "What? Who?"

"Itachi," he muttered, his voice cracking a little. He took a deep breath. "We are always in touch with one another. Whenever I spend out a message to him, I get a response a day or two later. But it's been two weeks since I've heard from him. I'm worried," he explained.

Sakura hesitated and then dropped his grip on his hands and lowered her knee a little so that it was still between his legs but in no danger to hurt him. His hands fell limply at his side and his body sagged a little in response as well. Whether this was because of the subject or because he was too exhausted to hold himself up, Sakura wasn't sure.

"Your brother can look after himself. He's probably just busy with Akatsuki business," she tried to assure. He nodded helplessly, like he was trying to convince himself.

She gently grabbed a hold of his face, pulling him up to look at her. He stared at her with sad, tired eyes. She gave a sad comforting smile. "It is okay to be scared and worried, but you can't let it get the best of you. Whatever comes our way, we can handle it like we always have."

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think I'm just tired. It's making me irrational," he whispered.

She stroked his cheek tenderly. "You need sleep," she said and then detangled herself to grab the pill bottle. "Will you please take some?"

He stared at the bottle for a moment before nodding and stepping up to the sink. A clean glass sat at the rim of the sink and he slowly filled it up with warm water. He stared into the mirror for a moment before turning and extending his hand, palm up. Sakura opened the bottle and placed two of the small white pills into his hand. He quickly shoved them into his mouth and gulped down some water, not giving himself the chance to change his mind.

He breathed out deeply and then emptied the remaining water in the sink before reaching out to his wife. She settled in his grasp, tucking her head under his chin and wrapping her arms around his thin waist. They stayed like this for a long moment.

Finally Sakura pulled back slightly to look at him. She reached up on her toes to kiss him, a simple chaste kiss that spoke a thousand words. "Let's go to bed," she said as her hand moved from his back to his arm and glided down until she could intertwine her fingers with his. He nodded and together they slowly made their way over to the bedroom.

They hadn't bothered to switch on any lights, so when they switched off the bathroom light the room became pitch black to their unadjusted eyes. Using their senses and memory of the room to guide them, they made their way over to the bed. Sasuke removed his pants and then his shirt, which he handed to Sakura. She didn't want to bother with finding her pajamas so she stripped herself of everything besides her underwear and then pulled Sasuke's discarded shirt over her head. Now comfortable, they climbed into each other's arms.

Sakura, because of the pregnancy and lack of sleep she had been getting because of Sasuke, was asleep in moments. Sasuke took longer, gently stroking his wife's hair and lower stomach. He concentrated on the chakra signatures growing within her, much stronger now than he had expected them to be. Slowly his word began to cloud over and with almost hysterical delight, Sasuke let out a small laugh as he started to drift into some much needed sleep.

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**So yeah. review please. **

**And since i probably won't undate in time Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.**


	3. Chapter 3

**well, i have no excuse to present to you except i fucking suck. I'm blunt about it, so yeah. This file has been on my flashdrive for way to long, labeled 3.14. This means i started and then stopped and trashed this cahpter thirteen other times before i finally got this one. I'm not even sure if it is even worth the wait, but i refused to start over again. **

**No proof reading, because i was in a rush to get this out before i changed my mind. Sorry.**

* * *

Sasuke was still asleep when Sakura woke up. Like, he was really out. Usually the smallest of noises or the slightest movement would wake him up. She awoke to the sound of Kai crying distantly in another room. She groaned and stretched accidently kicking Sasuke's leg. She froze and then turned slowly expecting to have woken him up if he hadn't already been up.

Instead she was greeted with his peaceful sleeping face.

She stared at him for a long moment, blinking incomprehensively at how peaceful he was sleeping with the noise and the kick. After a moment, she frowned. She honestly couldn't tell you why she did it-seriously after his lack of sleep it made sense for him to be sleeping so peacefully. And shouldn't she be moving around on her tippy toes to ensure he stayed that way?-but she slowly lifted her hand and snapped her fingers in front of his face.

He didn't even respond.

It had been a few days since he started taking his sleeping pills. The first day he almost slept through the entire day, getting up for dinner in a zombie like fashion before taking another pill and going back to sleep. It got better after that and Sasuke started taking only one pill a night because he soon realized that two made him sleep through the entire day. Sakura thought it was sort of funny. He went from one extreme to another, not sleeping at all to sleeping all the time because of two mild sleeping pills. Sasuke was sensitive to many kinds of medication so he would most likely need a much lower prescription and not the mild generic brand he had gotten.

Even when Sasuke started taking only one pill it left him in a fog in the morning. He got up around midmorning but usually needed at least one cup of coffee and a half hour to forty five minutes to start acting like himself again. The other day he confused the hell out of Sakura when he was wandering around the house like a zombie, running his hands over the walls and really examining ever inch of the house like there was some hidden mystery to be found. Then he had simples wandered out of the house clad in nothing but his underwear and a hoodie over his bare chest. Sakura had to watch the kids so she couldn't go chasing after him but he sent Naruto out to track him down before he got into any sort of trouble or embarrassed himself. Naruto found him sitting in the long grass of the Old Uchiha Manor staring blankly at the abandoned building.

By then Sasuke was almost completely out of his morning fog but he stayed there with Naruto by his side for a few more hours, saying nothing and staying deep in thought. It freaked Naruto out and worried the hell out of blonde and pinkette. However, when asked about it Sasuke would dodge the question or completely ignore it in favor of going back into deep thought again.

She blinked in confusion before turning her attention to the distant cries. She sighed and glanced at the clock, seeing that it was seven thirteen in the morning, as she rolled out of bed, slightly disturbed that he was sleeping so soundly. When did he ever sleep soundly? It went against the norm for sure.

She pulled on her robe and exited the bedroom, making her way down the hall and went to the guest room that had been converted into Kai's bedroom. The room that had once been a beige color was now a light blue with clouds expertly painted onto the ceiling. Kai was in a white crib. As soon as the little boy was in the comfort of his mother's arms, he immediately quieted down. Sakura bent forward and grabbed a blanket and lightly draped it over him as she headed down the stairs.

Sakura sat him down in the high chair and got him a sippy cup while she started a pot of coffee for when Sasuke decided to wake up. She doubted that he will be out for much longer. However, an hour went by and still he had yet to emerge from the bedroom. She checked on him twice and both times he was sleeping peacefully. And she will even admit that the second time she checked his pulse to see if he was even alive. (He was, obviously)

It was around nine forty when she heard any sort of noise from upstairs. However, she knew it wasn't Sasuke when she heard crying. Sakura made sure that Kai was comfortable before she rushed upstairs wanting to get to one of her babies and only slightly worried that the crying will wake her husband.

She was at the top of the stairs when she spotted the source of the crying. Seto was walking out of the master suite, sleepily rubbing his eyes. Next to him Mikoto was sniffling with wet tears streaking down her full cheeks. Seto held her hand, guiding her away from the master suite.

"Daddy sleepy, Mik. He play with you later," the boy assured his little sister.

She sniffled and tried to calm her tears. Sakura smiled sadly, happy that her little boy was able to handle the situation but sad that her little girl was upset. She pushed forward, walking calmly over to her young children. Mikoto spotted her mother quickly and flew into her arms. The young mother comforted the child the best she could, promising that her Daddy will be up soon.

Her eyes moved over to the dark bedroom, seeing no movement from within. "Seto, honey, is Daddy up yet?" she couldn't help but ask.

He shook his head and took her outstretched hand. "No, Mommy. Me heard Mik crying and got her when Daddy wouldn't waked up," he muttered.

She smiled and praised him for handling the situation like a good big brother. He was soon becoming Mommy's little helper, getting more involved with his siblings. When Mommy needed to get Kai's sippy cup, Seto was already running for the kitchen before she could even get up. When Sakura had all three kids, Seto was there to keep Mikoto entertained while Sakura changed Kai.

She led the two down stairs and into the kitchen where she started on their breakfast. Seto was keeping Mikoto calm and entertained while Sakura stood at the stove and kept a watchful eye on all of her kids. Breakfast rolled by and Sakura was about to take the kids upstairs so that she could start getting Seto ready for daycare when Sasuke slowly dragged himself through the kitchen doorway.

He was rubbing his eyes and his moves were sluggish. Looking at him, you could see he was in a sort of fog. He wore sweatpants, but no shirt and he was wearing mismatched slippers. He walked straight to her, giving her a quick kiss before going over to the coffee pot. By then it was cold, but that didn't seem to faze him when he started chugging it straight from the pot, spilling it down his chin and onto his bare chest.

Sakura blinked and put her hand his shoulder. "Babe, you okay?"

He waved his hand non-communicatively and then released a gust of air after downing a large portion of the coffee. Sakura blinked at him, raising an eyebrow and handing him a washcloth. He stared at her incomprehensibly before she sighed and ran the washcloth over his chest and chin. He blinked in response, mouthing the word, 'oh,' before moving over to the table.

He kissed Kai first, and then moved over to the other side of the table to kiss Seto and then over to Mikoto. Mikoto squealed in delight and clung to him, not letting him go. After a moment he was obligated to pull her into his arms with a sigh.

"Did they eat breakfast?" he asked groggily.

Sakura nodded and cleared the plates from the table. "Yeah, I was about take them up so I could get Seto ready for daycare."

Sasuke stared at her in confusion before looking at the clock. "Oh," was all he could get out.

Sakura smiled and moved over to lean over the island and snuck in a kiss. He responded sluggishly, like he was trying to put effort into it but just couldn't quite bring himself to the point where he could. Sakura pulled back slowly and then gave him a quick chaste kiss before smiling sweetly. "Did you sleep well at least?"

He nodded and ran a hand over his face. "Yeah, but I'm running so slow this morning." Sakura resisted the urge to comment about the fact that it was every morning versus this one. He would definitely need a milder pill.

She smiled and moved around the island to grab Kai and then motioned for Seto. Seto climbed off of the chair and rushed to her side, reached for her hand. Sakura took his hand and then smiled at her husband. "Just stay away from heavy machinery."

He frowned as she started for the door. "Oh, you're hilarious," he commented as he followed her.

They moved upstairs and into Seto's bedroom where he had all of his things sprawled out everywhere. Sasuke set Mikoto down while Sakura placed Kai down on Seto's bed. Sasuke looked around at the mess shaking his head. It wasn't that Seto was a slob and they let him keep his room this way but more of he had too much stuff to comfortably fit in the room. "You know, this isn't working out."

Sakura looked at him strangely as she dug through Seto's drawer with Seto by her side, discussing what he wanted to wear. "What's not working out?"

He shook his head, looking around at the vast amount of belongings Seto had. He had a lot of things but not enough places to put it. He bent over and tried to organize the things on the floor. "This house is too small."

Sakura snorted, handing Seto his shirt. "This house is twice as big as the house I grew up in."

Sasuke shook his head. "Yeah, it's a fine house for a family of five but we are about to be a family of seven. There isn't room in this house."

Sakura looked at him in confusion. "This house has five bedrooms. We have one, the three kids get their own rooms and then the twins share one. We have the perfect amount of rooms."

Sasuke sighed. "But we don't have space to put everyone's things. We have toys spread out in every room, a mess everywhere, a storage room overflowing with crap. Plus, what happens when the twins grow up and want to their own room? Or where we are going to put our blonde friends when it's too late to send them home?"

Sakura sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know. What do you want to do about it if it's too small? Renovate?"

He sat down on the bed, pulling Kai into his arms while Mikoto fought for his attention. He stared at Sakura. "No, it's not a matter of what I want to do but rather what I think should be done," he muttered in an almost defeated tone.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

He sighed, looking at Mikoto as she tried to climb up onto the bed. He situated her next to him so that his arm was around her while the other held Kai. "The Old Uchiha Manor has been in the family for generations, from the very start. It's large enough to accommodate our entire family plus more and is the center of the Uchiha District. Plus, it's tradition for the head of the Uchiha family to move into the Manor."

She blinked. "So you want to move into your childhood home?"

He eyed her in an uncertain manner. He sighed. "I don't know. I know it's what would be best but I can't seem to wrap my mind around the idea of living in the house I grew up in as it is. It's just too weird."

Seto was getting dressed now, so Sakura was sitting on the ground next to him. Her attention was fully on her husband now. She held Seto's discarded shirt in her hands, resting on her lap. She lifted her shoulders in a clueless manner to emphasize her confusion. "Then what are you saying? It sounds like you think we should move into the Old Manor, but at the same time you are saying that you don't want to live there. So where does that leave us?"

Sasuke ran a hand through Mikoto's hair in order to try and straighten out some stray hairs. Her hair was pulling "a Sasuke", as Sakura often called it, and defying gravity to stick up at an odd angle. He tried to smooth it out but gave up after a moment because he simply didn't have the energy.

He spoke as he turned his attention back to his wife. "I don't want to live in that house as it is. But I don't think we can go on living in this house with such a growing family. We're crammed in here as it is. I think our best option is to move."

Sakura glanced at Seto and adjusted his shirt. She pointed to his dresser drawer. "Get some socks out, honey," she muttered before turning her attention back to Sasuke. "I still don't understand. You say you don't want to live there but now we're moving? Won't it be too painful for you to be there, you know, in the place where your parents were . . . Won't it be too much for you?"

He looked at her seriously as Seto called for him by the dresser, holding two pairs of socks. He kept his attention on Sakura, intent on getting what he needed to say out before he forgot it in the sleeping pill induced haziness. "Which is why I said I don't want to live in that house as is. We still have a little more than seven months to get the house ready. I think we should go in and gut the place. Save the important things that have been in the clan for generations and then get rid of the rest. Give it to the poor and needy or some shit like that," he said before Sakura called out a warning to him.

He shook his head, still focusing on her as Seto continued to call him. "Sorry. Some_ stuff_ like that," he corrected before continuing. "We can repaint and change how everything looks and make it completely us. I think that's the only way I could live there and it's the only logical and traditional thing I can think of to get us more space for our ever growing family."

"Daddy!" Seto called again in an exasperated manner.

"Yes, my impatient son," Sasuke muttered before turning his attention to his son.

"Me can't pick," he said, holing up a red pair and then a blue pair. Sasuke gave a tired smile and tried to muster up more energy for the sake of his children. He motioned his son forward and the small boy ran forward. He leaned Kai against his stomach and pulled Mikoto closer so that he could lightly hold Kai in place. He wrapped his now free arm around his oldest son and looked at both socks.

"Well they both look like fine pairs to me. Why don't we play ennie meanie minie mo to pick," he suggest and then helped his son pick. Sakura watched her husband, treasuring the image of him sitting on a bed that was way too small for him while he was crowded around with their children, and smiled softly, using this as the perfect distraction for her now thoughtful contemplations. Her hand moved to rest on her lower stomach, where she couldn't sense the chakra swirling but she knew it was there.

They ended up with the red ones and as Seto sat down to put them on Sasuke looked up at his wife. His eyes traveled down to her hand and he stared thoughtfully at her. "We don't have to decide right this moment, but you should at least go down and look at the house and see the potential before we make a decision."

Sakura nodded and then motioned for Seto. "But let's get you to daycare first."

Sasuke went and got dressed while Sakura went down to the kitchen with Kai and Seto to get the raven some more coffee. Sasuke joined them in the kitchen after a moment with Mikoto in his arms, always clinging to him. With a diaper bag over his shoulder, coffee in one hand and Mikoto in the other, Sasuke exited the house with Sakura following. She held Kai in her arm and held Seto's hand with the other.

They walked Seto to daycare, ignoring everyone around them. People still couldn't get over them as a couple. They still stared and gossiped, but the hateful remarks had lessened considerably. There would always be those diehard villagers who were determined to hate, but for the most part everything had settled for them. Sakura feared when it got out that she was pregnant again, especially with twins because it will be a field day in Konoha. Sometimes it seemed no one had anything better to talk about than them.

They dropped Seto off and then met up with Naruto and Ino before they made their way back home to the Compound. Instead of going straight home, however, they stopped at the Old Manor. They stood in front of the abandoned mansion of sorts. With the lack of care and human contact for the last few years, it was a creepy looking building in need of some love. It saddened Sasuke to see his childhood home in this condition.

"It's too creepy," Naruto muttered to Sakura in a loud whisper, receiving a glare from Sasuke. He gave the blonde a warning look and then looked Ino and gave her the same look, stopping her before she even had the chance to say anything. She pouted and stuck out her tongue childishly.

They entered the house slowly, removing their shoes by the door when Sasuke did it, though he did it out of habit and memory more than anything. The house was dark, having the power shut off a long time ago, and there was dust everywhere. Besides some obvious cleaning and fixing up, the house was in pretty good condition and filled with all sorts of valuable items.

At the same time, it had items of everyday life laying around. It was sort of unsettling. It was the first time that Sakura had been in the Manor but she had imagined it completely differently. She had imagined it barren, all cleaned out of the furniture or with cloth over it to protect it from wear. She hadn't expected to see everything laid out and untouched over the years, frozen like it was the day everything changed for her husband. A book still sat resting open on the coffee table. An older man's coat hung on a hook by the door with his shoes pushed off to the side in the entryway. A dust rag sat on the hall table with a broom leaning against the wall next to it. It was extremely unsettling to her that just items were still left, giving a clear picture of what Sasuke's parents had been doing that day. It unnerved her that she could look around at the forgotten items and picture his father sitting on the couch reading while his mother moved about cleaning hours before they were killed.

Sakura passed Kai over to Ino while Sasuke ushered them into the kitchen. It was bigger than their current kitchen and had a small table. There was a separate dining room with a much larger and nicer table, probably used for nicer meals or when guests were invited. Sakura would admit that behind the grime, it was nice.

Sasuke showed them all of the first floor rooms, which included a living room, a sitting room, two offices (one for his mother and the other for his father), two half baths, a sun room, a veranda that lead out to the garden as well as some other smaller rooms with no specific designated use. Already Naruto was claiming a room, stating that if they move in they should convert it to a ramen room or something equally as silly. Both parents ignored him while Ino repeatedly mocked him for his stupidity.

Naruto ignored her and helped with the tour from his limited experience in the house. "That door leads to the basement but trust me when I say you don't want to go don't there. It's super creepy." Sakura nodded wordlessly, trusting him. If the first floor was creepy she couldn't imagine the dark basement.

Sasuke lead them down the hallway that led to the bedrooms next. At the end of the hallway was a flight of stairs that went up. They climbed the stairs slowly, expecting the stairs to creak but it hardly made a noise. There were about nine bedrooms, Sasuke stated, leading them down the branching hallways. They poked their heads into one of the old guest bedrooms. It was just as creepy as the rest of the house but nearly the same size as the master suite in the other house. Sasuke explained they were all pretty much this size, except the master suite which was bigger. Ino boldly exclaimed that she was moving in whether they decided to or not, while she stepped into the walk-in closet. Sasuke ignored her and instead showed them the attached bathroom. This bathroom was one of three on the floor, including the master suite's bath.

Sakura moved over to the window and stared out after using her sleeve to wipe away the dust and dirt. The backyard was huge, complete with a covered patio off in the distance. Distantly she saw another building, looking as if it had been boarded up a long time ago.

She called Sasuke over and gestured to it. "What is that?"

Sasuke looked out and frowned at the sad, abused building. "That's the training dojo. It's tradition for the shinobi in the family to get a complete crash course of all the Uchiha techniques when they come of age." Without having to say it out loud Sakura knew that Sasuke never got that and had to teach himself over the years. She grabbed his hand and leaned her head against his tall shoulder.

"We should fix it so we can continue the tradition with our children," she muttered, putting her other hand on Mikoto's back, who was still perched on Sasuke's hip. Sasuke nodded wordlessly next to her.

They toured the house for awhile longer before they exited. There was no debate about the potential of the house. They moved back to the current Manor and laid the kids down for their naps while the blondes waited in the kitchen and raided their fridge. After the kids were securely settled they joined their friends in the kitchen. Ino sat cross-legged on the kitchen counter, munching on a small bowl of grapes. Naruto was leaning against the counter across from her, a cup of instant ramen in his hand.

Sakura settled herself at the table while Sasuke went to the fridge and pulled out ingredients for his breakfast. Both blondes were loudly discussing how they were going to decorate their rooms at the Old Manor as if the couple had already decided on the move. Again, the more mature young adults ignored the blondes. Sakura looked to her husband as he began cooking. She sighed, feeling so tired already because of this pregnancy. It was still early and she was starting to feel effected by morning sickness more often now as the days dragged on.

She moved over to where he stood by the counter and hopped up next to him. She tucked some stray hairs away from her face as she leveled her gaze on him. He looked at her quickly, the knife in his hand that was moments ago slicing a tomato stilled. She chewed on her lip for a moment before she took a deep breath.

"The house is seriously outdated so before we worry about the cosmetics of it, we should go through and get a more thorough look at the updates that should be done."

Sasuke blinked, putting the knife down completely and quickly washing the juices from his hands. He toweled his hands off quickly and focused fully on his wife. He leaned against the counter next to her. "Is the number of updates a contributing factor to deciding whether or not we actually do this?"

Sakura shook her head. "No. It's like you said, this house has amazing potential. With some necessary updates and cosmetic changes, that house could be the perfect house for us. Plus, it is traditional that the head of the clan be in that house and well, that's us, so it feels right."

Sakura reached out to her husband and brushed some hair away from his cheek. Her fingers grazed his cheek softly, noticing that his usually soft skin was prickled with stubble. She traced his strong jaw line for a moment before she lowered her hand to his neck.

"Ultimately, I'm putting the final decision in your court. I'm happy here and we would make it work, even if we have to renovate to make more room. Or we can move to the Old Manor and start over. If it's too much for you to be there, then we will stay. But if it's fine with you, then I say we take the leap," she said gently while her thumb rubbed comfortingly at his nape.

Sasuke pursed his lips, breaking the eye contact for a moment as he considered. Years ago, the thought of living in his old home would have been impossible for him. He would have hated the idea and adamantly refused, never admitting it out loud but knowing it would be too painful for him.

But things had changed for him. He was a father now and he had the support of a woman whom he never thought he would be able to love and trust as much as he did. She and their kids have done more for him than he ever thought possible. Years ago, even he felt that he was a lost cause. But now he was able to love and be loved, and he was able to forgive, and move forward. He was healing so that, while it was still painful to think about his old family, he could look back and remember happier times. He was no longer bogged down by their loss, it was no longer a heavy, constricting loss over his heart. He could breathe again.

He could take the next step.

Sasuke looked up and then fingered the stray pink hairs that had fallen back into her face. He gave her a sad smile and leaned in for a quick, gentle kiss. When he pulled back, he looked her in the eyes seriously and gave a small nod. "Let's do this then."

Sakura smiled, knowing that the decision to move was more than just a decision to move. It was a sign that Sasuke was moving on, that he was better now. She leaned forward and gave him a strong kiss, locking him in so that she could express that she understood and was happy at how far he had come. He returned the kiss with equal fervor.

They pulled away when they became aware of their two blonde friends celebrating in the background. They had been so caught up in their own world that they had forgotten they were there. They turned when they heard the two blondes laughing and yelling.

"Yeah! We are getting a bigger house!" they yelled in unison and high fived one another.

Sakura rolled her eyes from her seated position on the counter and grabbed her husband's hand, intertwining her fingers with his. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at them. "No, Sakura and I are getting a bigger house. You two are going to get your own lives for once," he said.

Ino snorted at him, looking at him as if it was a ludicrous suggestion. Naruto took a large bite of ramen and spoke without caring that noodles were still hanging out of his mouth. "You're never getting rid of us, Teme."

Sakura smiled at him mischievously. "Well if we can't get rid of you then I guess we are just gonna have to put you to work. If you want a place at the new place then you are going to have to help fix it up."

Naruto groaned. "Ah, man," he complained.

* * *

**Well, not sure when the next one will be out. Probably not any time soon, i'm afraid. but review, i guess.**


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